Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran Wants to Invest In "Someone Who Probably Needs a Good Shrink Instead of a Business" She's been around long enough to know that the best entrepreneurs are often driven by deep personal injuries.

You can't take yourself too seriously," Barbara Corcoran says. Sure, on Shark Tank, she's a powerful investor who does not hold back her criticisms. But when she's off the TV set, she's often making goofy TikTok videos and cracking jokes at her own expense. Why? Because it makes her happy. It's also good business. "People instinctively know what genuine is," she says. "And when you're not genuine, people see right through it, and you lose credibility. The most important thing in all business is trust."

To Corcoran, business is entirely about human connection. It requires showing vulnerability, harnessing ambition, and using every negative experience as an opportunity to grow. That's what she looks for in entrepreneurs on Shark Tank, which is now in its 14th season. And today, as entrepreneurs stare down the uncertain economy of 2023, Corcoran says that entrepreneurs will need that human touch (and self-awareness) more than ever. Here, she explains how to open up, give feedback, and persevere.

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Not everyone gets to pitch on Shark Tank, but everyone does have a big moment where a lot is on the line. What's your advice to someone when it's "go time"?

Keep that energy high. Whoever you are normally, hype it up times 10. Boom, boom, boom! Practice it. Exaggerate. Because energy attracts. The minute an entrepreneur starts pitching, we all have the same reaction: Do our shoulders go down, or do we lean forward and want to hear what they have to say? That has less to do with their words and more to do with their energy.

Also, don't worry about having all the answers. It's human to say, "I don't know, but I'm eager to find out and I think I have a plan." It's the human connection that gets the deal, not the answers to "What are your sales?"

Sharks are known for giving brutal feedback, and you've offered your fair share. Is that ever difficult?

I think if you can look somebody in the eye and tell 'em honestly how you feel, even if it's a tough criticism, people will take it. Because they recognize it right away as the truth. I don't even think of it as optional. I just think it's the way you're supposed to be.

Right, because it's easy to be "nice" and just tell people what they want to hear. But it's much kinder to tell them what they need to hear.

The important difference is, with kindness, you're giving a piece of yourself. You're extending a hand, you're opening a door, you're giving honest advice. It's like sharing a gift. And people respond to gifts.

You meet a lot of entrepreneurs. How can you tell if someone has great potential?

Everyone on Shark Tank wants to make it big. But what I'm looking for is someone who has to make it big. It's a big difference. And it's not about desperation. It's about ambition.

For me, a person who has to make it is usually someone who's been injured. Someone who probably needs a good shrink instead of a business. What they're doing is proving an injury out from somewhere way back. Like, for me, it's my third-grade teacher, Sister Stella Marie, who told me I'd always be stupid. I guess I've spent the better years of my life proving that I'm not.

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Many entrepreneurs want to hide their setbacks and failings, because they fear it'll make them look incompetent. But you're saying those things are assets.

Yeah. When they don't share the injury, they're being insecure — or they haven't come to terms with it themselves. Good entrepreneurs do well with setbacks. It's not that they wish for the next one. But when they do come, they have a way of finding the juice.

A great example of this came through COVID. I mean, when I look at my entrepreneurs, I'd say 20% got stronger, and 80% just lost it. The 20% were the entrepreneurs. The other 80% were wannabe entrepreneurs that really don't thrive in those environments.

What did those 20% do that you wished the other 80% did too?

They told the truth to the people that they were working with, even sooner than they told the truth to themselves. They said, "We have a problem. I don't know what we're gonna do. I don't know how I'm gonna handle it. But we are gonna do the best we can, and this is my initial plan."

For example, Cousins Maine Lobster, which is a tremendously successful franchise business. I remember they called a meeting with everybody and said, "We don't have the cash flow." Then they said they were going to immediately change their whole operation to an online app where someone orders their lobsters and then pulls into a parking lot to pick them up.

I have another tremendous business called Boho Camper Vans. They were leasing camping vans for quick vacations. When COVID hit, people wanted to get out of the cities and into the mountains — but then they'd come back and say, "How do I do this to my van?" So they built a whole new business [converting other people's vans]. They arranged the financing through a local Dodge dealership that lost its sales.

And boom! Both businesses exploded.

Those stories have another common thread: The founders all stepped back and basically said, "Everyone's lives are being disrupted, not just mine. So how can I serve people's new needs?"

Whether you're in a pandemic or another upheaval, it's very important to remember — the minute things go bad, the big guys retreat. They talk to their attorneys; they don't want to lose their reputation. That's when an entrepreneur has the advantage. The big guys think of something on a Monday, and it takes 'em six months to get it out. A little guy just has an idea on Monday and can get it on the street on Tuesday.

Related: 5 Ways Business Owners Can Use Trusts to Benefit Their Company

Do you think that will hold true as we enter a possible recession? What should entrepreneurs be thinking about?

The entrepreneur that's going to go for it is ambitious, no matter what changes around them. They're going to get to where they want to go. So they can't really hesitate or wait for the economy to catch up. They're already thinking, How else can I get it done? It's that wonderful ability to think on their feet.

When we look at some people and ask, "Wow, how did they do it?," you'll find that, at the base of everything, it was about not being afraid. Not being afraid of the stress, the uncertainty. It's about welcoming change. And mostly, it's about needing to succeed. It's a need to hit that finish line and say, "I'm going to get there no matter what."